Board for prearranged domino hands

ABSTRACT

A domino board having areas thereon denominating separate hands and adapted to contain the dominoes thereof and also having a separate area with numbered donmino spaces for containing the remainder or boneyard of dominoes in predetermined sequence together with a score card receptacle.

United States Patent" 1 1 Stratta July 30, 1974 1 1 BOARD FOR PREARRANGED DOMINO 1,571,374 2/1926 Richard et a1. 273/150 HANDS 1,971,052 8/1934 Reynolds 273/151 3,224,780 12/1965 MOhi 273/148 A Inventor: James L. Stratta, 96 Maple Leaf Way, Atherton, Calif. 94025 Filed: Aug. 24, 1973 Appl. NO.I 391,450

[52] US. Cl. 273/151 [51] Int. C1. 1. A63f 9/20 [58] Field 01 Search... 273/151, 150, 136 R, 136 E,

273/136 K, 148 A, 137 R, 137 B, 137 C, 137

Caplan [5 7 ABSTRACT A domino board having areas thereon denominating 1 separate hands and adapted to contain the dominoes 1 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 BOARD FOR PREARRANGED DOMINO HANDS BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The conventional games of dominoes are played with a set of 28 tiles with each tile having a front face thereof divided in half and containing upon each half a number, generally denominated by dots. Although sets of dominoes may be, and sometimes are, made with different numbers of dominoes therein, it has become relatively conventional to employ a 28-tile set with numbers on the dominoes ranging from to 6. There are thus provided seven dominoes having any one of the numbers from 0 to 6 thereon from double blank to double six. While it is also possible to form dominoes in different sizes, it has become relatively conventional for individual tiles to have a size of 1 inch by 2- /8 inches with a thickness of the order of /8 inch and formed, for example, of plastic or ivory.

A wide variety of different games may be played with dominoes and one common game is termed Five-Up." This Five-Up game is normally played in tournaments and competitions between substantial numbers of individuals or teams. This game is sufficiently well known as to require no further explanation herein; however, it is noted that because the individual dominoes are normally initially drawn at random by the players, a substantial amount of luck is involved in winning games of dominoes. This may be likened to the game of bridge when cards are dealt out to the players so that those players receiving cards of higher denomination have a better chance of winning. Likewise in the game of dominoes, as generally played, the drawing of five dominoes in a hand where a substantial number thereof have the same number thereon provides the player of that hand with an advantage in the game in which they are drawn. It is also noted that during the play when a player is unable to play a domino or tile, he is required to draw a domino from the boneyard, i.e., residue of dominoes left on the table, and continue drawing until he draws one that does play. Here again there is a certain amount of luck involved in the drawing of these extra dominoes, for if a player is lucky he will immediately draw one that plays and, on the other hand, may draw a number of dominoes before drawing one that plays.

In order to remove at least a certain portion of luck from the game of dominoes as employed in tournaments or the like, it has been proposed that predetermined domino hands should be played by different players with the scoring then being based upon how well the players do with the same hands. Although this general thought has been voiced by many domino players, the practical difficulties of carrying out such a procedure have apparently precluded the playing of what might be termed Duplicated Dominoes like Duplicate Bridge."

The present invention provides a simple and practical domino board having spaces to contain predetermined domino hands and a boneyard containing tiles in predetermined numbered order for facilitating the play of duplicate dominoes.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention comprises a board or kit having thereon designated tile receptacles adapted to snuggly contain the dominoes of separate predeter- 2 mined hands such that players using a particular board will then always play the same hands. In addition the domino board hereof has a boneyard receptacle comprising numbered tile locations in which the residue or boneyard of dominoes left over from the domino hands are placed in predetermined order. The board is further provided with receptacles for hand identification means and scoring means.

The domino board of the present invention has the domino receptacles identified above provided in an upper surface thereof with each receptacle being dimensioned to hold only the number of dominoes that are intended to be fitted therein so that no possible movement of the dominoes can occur once they are positioned in the receptacles. This is necessary in order to prevent possible shuffling of the dominoes after they are placed in the receptacles of the board. The board is furthermore provided with finger grooves extending from the upper surface of the board into each of the domino receptacles whereby domino players may remove dominoes from the receptacles by finger action. This is highly advantageous for the board must be maintained in an upright position in order to prevent inadvertent scrambling of the dominoes disposed in predetermined order in the various receptacles of the board.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES The present invention is illustrated as to a single preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a perspective illustration of a board in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view through a domino hand receptacle illustrating the removal of dominoes therefrom for play of the game of dominoes;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the domino board of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the board taken in the plane 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken in the plane 55 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In describing the domino board of the present invention it is assumed that the reader understands the game of five-up dominoes, although there is later herein set forth a brief description of possible manners of scoring and the like, particularly associated with the play of duplicate dominoes employing the five-up game with the domino board of the present invention.

There is provided herein a board 11 formed as a generally flat member having an upper face 12 and an under side adapted to rest upon a flat surface such as the top of a table or the like. The board 11 may be formed in a variety of ways and of a number of different materials and thus no attempt is made herein to illustrate or describe manufacturing methods or the like.

On the upper surface 12 of the board 11 there are provided a number of domino hand receptacles. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention the board is intended for use in the game of five-up dominoes with four players and thus there are provided four domino hand receptacles 16, 17, 18 and 19, preferably disposed with one adjacent each side of the board wherein the board is formed as a square or rectangle.

- The illustrated embodiment of the present invention provides the board as a square; however, the exterior configuration of the board may, of course, be varied inasmuch as the exterior configuration is in no way related to the invention itself. Each of the domino hand receptacles 16 to 19 is labeled either with numbers or names in order to identify each receptacle. In FIG. 3 it will be seen that receptacle 16 is labeled North, receptacle 17 East, receptacle 18 South and receptacle 19 West. This is a convenient manner of denominating the domino hand receptacles so that players using the board will be able to readily identify which hand they are to play. Each of the domino hand receptacles is provided as a rectangle recessed into the board or at least bounded by walls and having the dimensions of five conventionally sized dominoes for the game of five-up. Although the present invention is equally applicable to other domino games such as seven-up, the illustrated and described embodiment of the present invention is directed to the game of five-up wherein five dominoes are provided to each player initially and the remaining eight dominoes are provided in a boneyard" for subsequent draw by domino players unable to play from their hands.

In addition to the four domino hand receptacles 16 to 19 provided on the upper surface 12 of the board, there is also provided on this upper surface a boneyard receptacle 21. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention this boneyard receptacle 21 is located centrally of the board and, again for the game of five-up, is dimensioned to contain eight dominoes, as indicated in FIG. 1. Each of the domino locations in the boneyard receptacle 21 is numbered with the numbers being I to 8, as illustrated. The purpose of this numbering is explained below. Such numbers do, however, appear upon the upper surface 12 of the board and form an integral part of the present invention.

As noted above, the various receptacles for dominoes in the upper surface 12 of the board are dimensioned to contain the stated number of dominoes in a relatively tight fit in the receptacles. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein the dominoes are shown to be inserted in the receptacles provided as depressions in the upper surface of the board. This then prevents any possible movement of the dominoes in the receptacles, for the particular dominoes located in each of the domino hand receptacles 16 to 19 are predetermined and are not to be changed and also the location of each domino in the boneyard is necessarily maintained the same for each identical hand to be played with the board. In order to remove dominoes from any of the receptacles on the board, it is necessary for players to grip the dominoes with their fingers; however, the relatively snug fit of the dominoes in the receptacles resists any such gripping. In order to overcome this problem the present invention provides finger grooves extending from the upper surface 12 of the board alongside each of the receptacles and extending to the bottom of each receptacle. Considering FIG. 2, for example, it will be seen that a finger groove 26 extends at an angle downwardly from the upper surface 12 to the bottom of a receptacle at an end or side thereof. Preferably such a groove is provided at each end of each domino hand receptacle so that a player may insert a finger 27 in the finger groove and thus lift an end domino from the receptacle, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The boneyard receptacle may, as illustrated, be dimensioned to contain two rows of four dominoes side by side and contacting each other 4. and in this instance there is preferably provided at least two and preferably four finger grooves 26 so that ready access may be had to substantially any domino in the boneyard receptacle. At least one finger groove is provided for each of the receptacles of the board of this invention and additional finger grooves may be provided as illustrated to facilitate rapid removal of dominoes as required in usage of the board.

The board of the present invention is preferably furthermore provided with a receptacle 31 for receiving a card or-sheet upon which there is identified the order of dominoes to be placed in the receptacles of the board. This receptacle 31 may be, for example, provided as a slot or the like in one edge of the board, adapted to receive and retain the hand identification 32 upon which there is written or adapted to be written the location of each domino on the board prior to play. There is also preferably furthermore provided a receptacle 33 as, for example, in the form of a slot at the edge of the board for receiving a score card or the like 34 upon which there is adapted to be entered the score of each game played with the hand set-up of that particular board. Each board is preferably numbered, as indicated at 36, to facilitate scoring of duplicate dominoes played with the boards of the present invention.

The domino board of the present invention is employed by placing the dominoes or tiles of the domino set in the receptacles of the board in accordance with the arrangement of dominoes set forth on the card 32. Preferably the arrangement is a random one which may be initially obtained by merelymixing dominoes on a table and drawing four hands to leave the eight dominoes left for the boneyard. The boneyard dominoes are then, however, placed in order from 1 to 8 with this order being identified on the card 32. The boneyard dominoes are then placed in the boneyard receptacle 21 in the stated order. The dominoes of each hand are placed in the hand receptacles 16 to 19, however, it is not necessary to place the dominoes of each .hand in any particular order.

With the board set up as identified above four players using the board and seated about a domino table or games table, each draw their hand from their respective receptacle. The board itself may then be placed on the corner of the table, for example, and the game of dominoes commenced with the initial play being made by the setter North as identified on the board. The domino game continues as a conventional domino game until one of the players cannot play on those dominoes aligned on the table. Such player then draws a domino from the boneyard and it is particularly noted that the player drawing from the boneyard draws dominoes in the numbered sequence of boneyard dominoes. In accordance with conventional domino game rules the player drawing from the boneyard draws dominoes until he can play and the game then proceeds.

It will be appreciated that the duplicate domino or playing of duplicate domino games with the domino board of the present invention does not insure that each game played will be identical but instead provides only that the original hands will be the same, and furthermore thatthe order of drawing dominoes from the boneyard shall be the same. The point during a game at which a player may have to draw from the boneyard is, however, in good part determined by the skill of the players and it is not intended to limit or direct such skill.

Following the play of a game of dominoes wherein points are scored, as for example upon a conventional cribbage board or peg board, the score is entered on a scoreboard 34 which may be provided in the receptacle 33 in the board. The scorecard is generally retained in the board for any type of tournament play and commonly the players having just completed the game then return the dominoes to their appropriate positions on the board in the receptacles therefor in accordance with the list on the card 32. Such card is of course not consulted by the players prior to play. Insofar as scoring of tournament play employing domino boards in accordance with the present invention it is noted that such play may be scored as pairs, i.e., teams of two competing against other teams of two, as is quite conventional. Commonly teams of two move from one table to another with a single board being provided each table so that actual competition occurs between teams playing the same hands. It is also possible to arrange for scoring on the basis of teams of four and it will be appreciated that various other scoring and play arrangements are possible employing the domino boards of the present invention.

The present invention has been illustrated an described particularly in connection with a domino board for five-up dominoes. However, it will be appreciated that the board may be alternatively arranged and numbered for other domino games. it will also be appreciated that many modifications and variations in the physical size and configuration of the board are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus it is not intended to limit the invention to the precise details of illustration or terms of description.

What is claimed is:

1. A domino board comprising a four-sided board having a substantially fiat upper surface with an opentopped domino receptacle in the upper surface adjacent each of said sides, each of said receptacles being of the same size to receive and snugly retain five domino tiles, said board having a recessed boneyard receptacle in the upper surface thereof having a size to receive and snugly retain eight domino tiles in order, and means defining the numbers one to eight with a separate number adjacent each tile space of said boneyard receptacle.

2. The domino board of claim 1 further defined by said board defining at least one slot adapted to receive a card for identifying the order of domino tiles to be placed in the four domino receptacles and in the boneyard receptacle.

3. The domino board of claim 1 further defined by finger grooves extending from the upper surface of the board into sides of said receptacles for facilitating removal of tiles from receptacles.

4. A domino board for the play of predetermined hands of the game of dominoes comprising a generally planar board having an under surface adapted to rest upon a table or the like and a substantially flat upper surface, said board having lateral sides with each side being separately identified by markings upon the board, said board having in the upper surface an indented domino tile receptacle adjacent each side and dimensioned to receive and snugly retain a hand of domino tiles, said board also defining in the upper surface a recessed boneyard tile receptacle dimensioned to receive and snugly retain the excess of domino tiles in a set thereof above the number of tiles located in the domino tile receptacles, and markings upon the board separately identifying each domino location in said boneyard receptacle whereby domino tiles placed therein in predetermined order may be withdrawn therefrom in such order.

5. The domino board of claim 4 further defined by said board including a card holder for retaining a card identifying the location of each of the dominoes of a set in the receptacles on said board and the other adapted to receive a score card 6. The domino board of claim 4 further defined by said board defining a pair of card receptacles with one adapted to receive a card identifying the location of each of the dominoes of a set in the receptacles on said board and the other adapted to receive a score card.

7. A domino board for the predetermined location of dominoes in the play of predetermined hands of the game of dominoes comprising a board defining in the upper surface thereof a number of domino receptacles with one receptacle for each player and each receptacle being dimensioned to snugly retain the dominoes for a separate player, means identifying each of said receptacles whereby players may remove therefrom the dominoes of his hand, said board further defining in the upper surface thereof a boneyard receptacle dimensioned to snugly retain all of the remainder of the tiles of a domino set beyond those retained by said domino receptacles and having numbered domino spaces therein whereby domino tiles disposed in predetermined positions in the boneyard receptacle may be withdrawn during play in predetermined order. 

1. A domino board comprising a four-sided board having a substantially flat upper surface with an open-topped domino receptacle in the upper surface adjacent each of said sides, each of said receptacles being of the same size to receive and snugly retain five domino tiles, said board having a recessed boneyard receptacle in the upper surface thereof having a size to receive and snugly retain eight domino tiles in order, and means defining the numbers one to eight with a separate number adjacent each tile space of said boneyard receptacle.
 2. The domino board of claim 1 further defined by said board defining at least one slot adapted to receive a card for identifying the order of domino tiles to be placed in the four domino receptacles and in the boneyard receptacle.
 3. The domino board of claim 1 further defined by finger grooves extending from the upper surface of the board into sides of said receptacles for facilitating removal of tiles from receptacles.
 4. A domino board for the play of predetermined hands of the game of dominoes comprising a generally planar board having an under surface adapted to rest upon a table or the like and a substantially flat upper surface, said board having lateral sides with each side being separately identified by markings upon the board, said board having in the upper surface an indented domino tile receptacle adjacent each side and dimensioned to receive and snugly retain a hand of domino tiles, said board also defining in the upper surface a recessed boneyard tile receptacle dimensioned to receive and snugly retain the excess of domino tiles in a set thereof above the number of tiles located in the domino tile receptacles, and markings upon the board separately identifying each domino location in said boneyard receptacle whereby domino tiles placed therein in predetermined order may be withdrawn therefrom in such order.
 5. The domino board of claim 4 further defined by said board including a card holder for retaining a card identifying the location of each of the dominoes of a set in the receptacles on said board and the other adapted to receive a score card.
 6. The domino board of claim 4 further defined by said board defining a pair of card receptacles with one adapted to receive a card identifying the location of each of the dominoes of a set in the receptacles on said board and the other adapted to receive a score card.
 7. A domino board for the predetermined location of dominoes in the play of predetermined hands of the game of dominoes comprising a board defining in the upper surface thereof a number of domino receptacles with one receptacle for each player and each receptacle being dimensioned to snugly retain the dominoes for a separate player, means identifying each of said receptacles whereby players may remove therefrom the dominoes of his hand, said board further defining in the upper surface thereof a boneyard receptacle dimensioned to snugly retain all of the remainder of the tiles of a domino set beyond those retained by said domino receptacles and having numbered domino spaces therein whereby domino tiles disposed in predetermined positions in the boneyard receptacle may be withdrawn during play in predetermined order. 